2025 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

There is a growing need for healthcare applications across various fields, particularly in STEM. For mechanical engineering students, their future prospects extend beyond traditional areas such as energy, manufacturing, mechanical design, and control, and encompass opportunities in pharmaceuticals, biomedical engineering, and healthcare consulting, providing an imperative for mechanical engineering students to be trained at the intersection of healthcare applications. To support this need, this paper describes the development of a new, unique multidisciplinary course titled "Artificial Organs" in the Mechanical Engineering department at a large public institution in the northwest. The development and teaching of this course were designed and led by both a graduate student and a faculty instructor. This new course aims to broaden the horizons of mechanical engineering students by addressing challenges and applications related to artificial organs. It seeks to meet the demand for training the next generation of mechanical engineers with advanced skills to excel in interdisciplinary challenges and a competitive job market. This paper will discuss the course contents and pedagogical approach employed to deliver the new course successfully. Using backwards design, our goal was to create a student-centered learning environment through which students explored complex, interdisciplinary concepts through peer discussions and teamwork, resulting in a final project and presentation.